MEDITATIONS
FROM PAUL’S EPISTLES
January 17,
2007
Reading: Titus 3:1-8
“According to His mercy He
saved us, through the washing of regeneration” Titus 3:5
Oh, the glory
of our salvation – mercy, mercy, mercy. My soul, you have not received that
which you so rightfully deserved. You and God were violently opposed. He is
Holy, Pure and Righteous, you a sinner and clothed, in the words of scripture,
in putrid rags. You were at enmity with God. You had nothing to offer Him and
there was nothing you could do to make yourself clean in His eyes. Because of
this horrid situation you deserved to be the recipient of God’s justice. There
was nothing you could do, but there was something He could do. You could not
become Holy, but He could become sin. You cannot begin to imagine the horror
this concept would be to a fully righteous God.
In His eyes
sinful man is but a worm and the nations but a drop of water in a bucket. As
revolting as it would be for God to take upon Himself the form of a man and
become one with mankind, how much more offensive and vile would it be to become
sin—that which He hated with a perfect hatred? If any man or woman was to ever
become holy and righteous in God’s eyes, this was the only way to make it
happen. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to accomplish this unthinkable concept
and, the amazing thing is, that His Son was willing to undertake and accomplish
it.
The very life
and death of Jesus Christ was a phenomenal act of mercy. That
which we deserved He suffered. That which He endured was what we
deserved.
“For He made
Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of
God in Him” 2
Corinthians
The only way you could become clean in God’s eyes was
“through the washing of regeneration.”
“Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of
water by the word” Ephesians
Author of our salvation, once offered on the
tree;
Our strength in all temptation, Lord, we
remember Thee.
We, by Thy Spirit guided, to
The Lamb that God provided,
was slaughtered for us there.
The sword of God was bidden His Holy One to
smite;
Jehovah’s face was hidden in terrors from Thy
sight.
His tokens had declared Thee His Son that
pleased Him well,
He
pierced Thy soul nor spared Thee, when bruised by
earth and hell.
Justice, our guilt to cover, awoke the
wrathful storm;
Dismay seized friend and lover; Thou saidst,
‘I am a worm’:
Thou wast of God forsaken, as one by God
abhorred;
The sinner’s place was taken, by Thee, our
glorious Lord.
We, on to ruin hurried—to misery’s abyss;
But, dead with Thee and buried, and raised to
share Thy bliss,
We sing, with hearts united, Thy cross for
evermore;
Once, like the world, benighted, Thy name we
now adore.
R.C. Chapman